Brief case or portfolio



Sept. 20, 1932. N. OTTINGER BRIEFYCASE OR PORTFOLIO Filed March 11, 19512 Sheets-Sheet l M ATTORNEY Sept. 20, 1932. N. OTTINGER BRIEF CASE ORPORTFOLIO Filed March 11. 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNENTOR. fiiafiarzQizmger g 142 A TTORNEY i WVith the above and other objects in View,

Patented Sept. 20, 1932 NAT-HAN o'r'rmenn, or NEWYOBK, N. Y.

BRIEF oA'sn' on ronrromo Application filed March 11, 1931. serialNo.521,760.-

This invention'whic'h isherein disclosed as embodied in a brief case,portfolio or other document containeryhas for its gen eral obj ectandpurpose to provide an article of thiskind which will enable access to beeasily and quickly had to the entire contents of the'case or portfolio,without completely removing said contents whereby a desired paperordocument may be easily selected and removed, and to also provide meanswherebythe said case or portfolio maybe securely closed notwithstandingthe bulk of the contents thereof to prevent accidental opening 'ofthecase and loss of papers con t'ained therein, and without necessarilyemploying a mechanical locking device of any kind. r

Among other important features thereof,

mypresent improvements provide an article 1.20. of this kindcharacterized by simplicity of constructiomlow cost of manufacture,maximum durability, and the possibility of production" in numerousesthetically attractive r to 4 thereof, in this form of my invention,-

forms and materials.

the invention consists in the improved brief case, portfolioflor otherdocument container possessing the above noted advantageous features, andin the form, construction and c3). relative' 'arrangement of the severalparts. thereof, as will be hereinafter more fullydescribed,illustratedin the accompanying drawings, and subsequently incorporated in the subjoined claims. 7 3.5. 1-11 the drawings, wherein I have disclosed severalsimple and practical embodiments of the invention, and in which'similarreference characters designate corresponding parts throughout theseveral v1ews,-

$9.. Figure lis a plan view of a blank illustrat ing one simple andpractical form of my- I wardly upon one side of the section 7 alongpresent improvements; 7

view showing certain Fig. 2 is a similar parts of the blank in foldedrelation, the

closure means for the case being in open position? l Fig; Sis a planview showing the case or portfolio completely closed;

r Fig. dis a sectional view on'an enlarged scale taken on the line 4'4-of Fig. 3;

, Figs.'5 and 6 are plan'views'illustrating a slightly modified form'ofthe device before and after the case is completely closed;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 7-7' of Fig. 6;1 4

Fig. 8 is a plan 'vieW of a furtheralten native construction, showingthe ca'se open; Fig. 9 is a similar'view, theicas'e being partly'closed;

' Fig; 10 1s a plan View, showing thelattei' form of case completelyclosed,"

Fig. 11 is a plan view of'a blank from which a furtherjalternativeconstruction ofthe case is formed; l I v Fig. 12 is a similar viewshowing parts 5 of the blank secured =inpermanently connected relation,the case being open; p

Fig. 13 is a plan view of the latter form of case when completelyclosed, and I Fig. 14 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line lt-14 of Fig. 13. Referring indetail to the drawings, and for the presentmore particularly to Figs. 1'

the body of the case is produced in the form 7 of a blank sheet ofleather or other similar material, which includes the intermediatesection 5 of any suitable dimensions to form one side wall of the case,and the triangular V shaped sections 6 and 7 respectively,constig tutingthe oppositeend portions of the blank 1 and extending integrally fromthe section 5. The obliquely inclined edges-8 and 9 respectively,-'ofthe end sectionsl6 and 7 are dis-' posed in substantially parallelrelation so 35 that the said sections 5, 6 and 7 of the blank, thustogether define an elongated'parallelo gra,m T The section 5 at one ofits side edges is provided with a lateral extension 10. The

sections 6 and 7 are adapted to be foldedinthelines indicated at 11and-12 respectively, while the extension 10 is inwardly foldable Asherein -shown,=I provide the flap which may be of the same or differentmate-- rial from the blank constituting the body.

of the case. This flap is also ofltriang'ular shaped form, and thehypotenuse edge 15 thereof is disposed upon the inner side of thesection 7 of the case body in inwardly spaced parallel relation from itsinclined edge 9 and permanently secured thereto in any preferred manneras by the stitching indicated at 16. This inclined edge 15 of the flap14; is shorter than the inclined edge 9 of the section 7 and said flapis so positioned, that the side edge 17 thereof is inwardly spaced fromthe corresponding parallel side edge 18 of the section 5. The inclinededge 9 of the section 7 does not intersect the juncture oint of the edge18 of section 5 with the old line 12, but extends beyond the edge 17 offlap l4 and joins an extension of the side edge 18 of the section 5 inspaced relation to the fold line 12, as indicated at 19. This isanimportant feature of this particular construction of my invention, asit inures he easy and q ck l ng of t e op Side o he ase- Having providedthe structure as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the formation of thecase is completed by merely folding the triangular extension 6 inwardlyalong line 11 upon the body section 5, and then permanently securingthis triangular section 7 along its lateral side edge in any preferredmanner to the side edge 18 of-the section 5, as by the stitching shownat 20. Thus, there is produced upon one side of the body wall section 5of the case, a triangular shaped pocket, with the edge 8 of the section6 extending diagonally between opposite corners of said pocket. It willbe apparent that by the attachment of flap 14 to the inner or under sideof the section 7 in spaced relation to the edge 9; of said section,there is thus produced by said obliquely inclined edge portion of thesection 7, a relatively yieldable flap indicated at 21. Thus in closingthe case, when this section 7 is folded inwardly along the line 12, theflap 14 is inserted into the pocket 6 upon the papers contained therein,and upon the flap or extension 10, which has previously been foldedinwardly along the line 13, and positioned at one of its ends withinsaid pocket as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The flap 21 will thusoverlie the obliquely inclined edge 8 of the section ,6 and yieldinglypress upon the outer surface of said pocket wall or section 6. Owing tothe Width of this yielding or spring flap 21, said flap may function inthis manner while permitting'of a certain extent of relative flexing ofthese sections 6 and 7 to accommodate a considerable mass or bulk ofpapers or documents within the pocket 6. It will also be evi-.

dent that by reason of the fact that the side edge 17 of flap 14 isinwardly spaced from the connected edges of the sections 5 and 6, saidflap may be inserted within the open side of the pocket with ease andfacility, and as this flap rides upon the papers or contents of thepocket in its inward movement, the spring closure flap 21 of the section7 of the case is automatically brought to its sealing position inresilient contact upon the pocket wall or section 6.

When the case has thus been closed as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings,it will be evident that said case with its contents may be convenientlycarried, without the slightest possibility of any of the papers ordocuments accidentally slipping out of the case and being lost,notwithstanding the fact that no straps, locks or other additionalfastening or securing means is provided.

It will be apparent that a brief case or portfolio of the aboveconstruction will be of great convenience in daily use or service bylawyers, and others whose professions practi-cally necessitate the useof such carriers or containers, the contents of which must be more orless frequently displayed or used in the course of the day. Thus, bymeans of my novel case or portfolio construction instant access may behad to all of the case contents, by merely lifting upon the sealing flap21, The flap 14 being freely flexible, will thus be withdrawn from theopen side of the pocket 6 and by then lifting the flap or extension 10and moving the same outwardly and laterally from the side of the case,the entire. contents of the case are displayed, without however,necessitating the complete removal of such contents from the casepocket. There is a sufiicient area of the papers or documents containedin said pocket visible after the case is thus opened to permit of anyparticular document which may be required to be easily and quicklyselected and withdrawn. Thus, the various or numerous papers will notbecome scattered with the danger of possible loss of importantdocuments, as occasionally occurs in the use of the ordinary lawyersbrief case, in which a selection of an individual paper or documentcannot be made without considerable inconvenience or difliculty, unlessall of the papers are removed from the case.

In Figs. 5, 6 and 7 of the drawings, I have illustrated a slightvariation of the case or portfolio construction above described, inwhich, the flap or extension 10 of the case wall 5, instead of foldingunder the section 7 and into the pocket of the case, is foldedexteriorly upon the outer side of the section 7 after the latter hasbeen folded to closed position and the diagonally extended open side ofthe pocket closed or sealed. In this case there fore, the flap 10 at oneof its ends has an obliquely inclined edge 22 so that When said flap isfolded upon the section 7, this edge will substantially coincide withthe inclined edge 9 of the sealing flap 21 on the section 7. In order toretain'the closure flap or extension 7 in closed position, in this formof my invention, a suitable key actuated lock indicated at 23 is securedto the outer side of the case jis precluded. Therefore,

in this construction,

mensions.

latter flap inserted tam-@54 section 7, the flap 10 be engaged bythe keyThus, as seen in-Fig. 6 of the drawings, by

of the case which would permit the withdra wal of the flap 14 from thecasepocket,

the owner has complete assurancethat the contents'offthe case cannot berifled or stolen. j i

In Figs. 8 to 10 of the drawings, I show another practical constructionof my im- 15 proved case or portfolio, in which the body of the caseincludes the sections 5, 6 and 7 as above described, but in which thesealing flap 21 extends along only one half of the obliquely inclinededge of the section 7 Also, instead of providing the flap or extension10 of rectangular form as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, thisextension 10 is of general triangular sha e similar to the section 7though of smaller i- To the inner side of this extension, thetriangular-shaped flap 14 is secured in spaced relation to an obliquelyinclined edge of said extension so that said edge pro: vides a yieldablesealing flap 22 which is of approximately the same length as the flap22' on the section 7. In this construction, the section 7 is firstfolded and the flap 14 thereon inserted under the section 6 within thecase pocket so that the flap 21 resiliently or yieldably bears upon theupper surface of the section 6, while the remaining obliquely inclinededge of the section 7 is opposed to the inclined edge of the section 6.The'section 10 wlth the flap 14 is now folded inwardly, and said intothe open side of the pocket upon the flap 14 while the seallng edge orflap 22 of section 10', is positioned in line with the sealing flapsection 21 and also in bearing contact upon the outer side of the pocketwall or section 6, thus completing the closure of the open side of thepocket. This arrangement when the case is thus closed as shown in Fig.10 of the drawings, gives complete protection to the, case contents andalso provides a case of neat and attractive appearance. r

In Figs. 11 to 14, I show another simplifiedembodiment of my invention,in which the blank includes the sections 5 6 and 7,

the two latter sections being somewhat different in form from thecorresponding sections of the blank as previously referred to. Thus, thesection 6 has an obliquely inclined edge 8 which extends between theopposite side edges of the section 5 when said section 6 is foldedinwardly on the section 5 and secured along its wider side edge to thelatter section by the stitching indicated at 20. The other section 7 oftaa "previd'ed at its 1 edge with the complementary means 24to actuatedlocking bolt.

' said section or wall 5 of the case,

'ing

the blank may be of rectangular form, the side edge thereofcorresponding to the connected side'edges of the sections 5 and 6 beinginwardly offset from said connected edges of the latter sections asshown at 17 so as to facilitate folding of the section 7 within the openside of the pocket under the section 6. The other "side edge of thesection 7 is provided with an integral extension 25 projecting beyondthecorresponding side edge of the section 5' and which is foldedinwardly at a point in laterally spaced relation therefrom and thensecured adjacent to said line of fold and also at a point outwardlyspaced from the adjacent edge of the section 5 by the stitchingindicated at 26. Thus in this construction, itwill be understood thatafter the papers or documents have been placed in the pocket of thecase, the section 7 is folded thereon,

' the upper part of said section extending into the pocket under thesection 6. In this construction, the free part of. the extension 25isflexed'outwardly away from the inner side ofthe section 7 that it maypass over the side edge'of the section 5, and when re leased overlapsupon the outer surface of g I as clearly indicated in Fig. '13 of thedrawings, thereby closing this lateral open side of the pocket andpreventing outward movement of the contents of the case therethrough.

From the foregoing description, 'cons'id-' ered in connection with theaccompanying drawings, the construction, manner of use and variousadvantages of the several disclosed embodiments of my invention will befully understood. It is of course, more or less, apparent that in thefirst described constructions, instead of attaching the flap 14' to theinner side of the section 7, this sec-' tion may be of substantiallyrectangular form, and a diagonally extending sealing flap of yieldablematerial attached to the outer side thereof to overlap the edge of thefocket wall 6 and resiliently act upon the outer surface thereof whenthe part or section? is folded to its closed position over, the contentsof the case. g

It will also be evident that while I have herein referred to severalcontainer construc tions of simple and practical form the essentialfeatures of my present invention, that such a container might also beproduced in various other alternative constructions, and it willaccordingly be understoodlthat the privilege is reserved of re- 1embodyedge upon the other side of said first named triangular shapedsection, and means for closing the container between the lateral edge ofsaid intermediate section and the corresponding edge of said foldablepocket closing '05 section.

2. A container of the kind described having a body comprising anintermediate section and relatively foldable end sections, one. of saidend sections of the body being folded inwardly upon one side of saidintermediate section to cooperate therewith andform a pocket-likeretainer with one free edge of said end section extending across theopen side of said pocket, a relatively flexing part secured along one ofits edges to the inner face of the other end section in spaced relationto one edge of the latter section, and said part having a lateral edgeinwardly spaced from and out of alignment with the correspondin glateral edge of said first named end section, said second named endsection and said relatively flexing part constituting closure means forsaid pocket, said part being insertable beneath the free edge of saidfirst named end section to underlie the same in its closed position, andsaid edge of the second named end section adjacent to which said part isattached folding over said free edge of the first named end section andupon the outer side thereof, and means for closing the container betweenone lateral edge of said intermediate section, and the correspondingedgeof said foldable pocket closing end section.

3. A container comprising a side wall, and a relatively yieldableretaining wall superimposed over a part of said side wall in permanentrelation therewith and having a free edge extending across said sidewall at the .-open side of a retainer pocket, and closure means for theopen side of said pocket, including a member foldable with respect tosaid side Wall along one edge thereof, a part secured to the innersurface of said, member in spaced relation to a'free edge of the latterand projecting beyond said edge, said'part having a lateral edgeinwardly spaced from and out of alignment with the corresponding lateraledge of saidretainer pocket, said part, :being flexibly movable withrespect to said member and insertable beneath the free edge of saidretainer section and into said pocket, and said edge of said memberadjacent to wh'ch said part is attached folding over said free edge, ofthe retainer section and yieldably engaging upon the outer surfacethereof, and additional means for closing the container'between the,other lateral edges. of said pocket forming walland the first namedclore member-i In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention,I have signed my name hereto.

NATHAN OTTINGER,

